Access Active Directory Data from MySQL in HeidiSQL

HeidiSQL is an open-source database administration tool that natively supports MariaDB, MySQL, SQL Server, and PostgreSQL. When paired with the CData ODBC Driver for Active Directory and SQL Gateway, HediSQL's reach extends to include access to live Active Directory data. This article demonstrates how to connect to on-premise Active Directory and query Active Directory data in HeidiSQL.

Connect to Active Directory Data

If you have not already done so, provide values for the required connection properties in the data source name (DSN). You can use the built-in Microsoft ODBC Data Source Administrator to configure the DSN. This is also the last step of the driver installation. See the "Getting Started" chapter in the help documentation for a guide to using the Microsoft ODBC Data Source Administrator to create and configure a DSN.

To establish a connection, set the following properties:

• Valid User and Password credentials (e.g., Domain\BobF or cn=Bob F,ou=Employees,dc=Domain).
• Server information, including the IP or host name of the Server, as well as the Port.

• BaseDN: This will limit the scope of LDAP searches to the height of the distinguished name provided.

  Note: Specifying a narrow BaseDN may greatly increase performance; for example, cn=users,dc=domain will only return results contained within cn=users and its children.

When you configure the DSN, you may also want to set the Max Rows connection property. This will limit the number of rows returned, which is especially helpful for improving performance when designing reports and visualizations.

Configure the SQL Gateway

See the SQL Gateway Overview to set up connectivity to Active Directory data as a virtual MySQL database. You will configure a MySQL remoting service that listens for MySQL requests from clients. The service can be configured in the SQL Gateway UI.

To connect to the SQL Gateway from HeidiSQL, you will need to run the SQL Gateway on a web-facing machine. After configuring the SQL Gateway, make note of the following information:

• The IP address or domain name of the machine hosting the SQL Gateway
• The data source name (likely CData ActiveDirectory Sys) of the MySQL service
• The port number of the MySQL service
• The credentials of a SQL Gateway user with access to the service

Configure Remote Access

If your ODBC Driver and the remoting service are installed on-premise (and not accessible from HeidiSQL), you can use the reverse SSH tunneling feature to enable remote access. For detailed instructions, read our Knowledge Base article: SQL Gateway SSH Tunneling Capabilities.

Connect to Active Directory in HeidiSQL

Once you have a MySQL Service configured for the CData ODBC Driver for Active Directory, you are ready to connect to the data in HeidiSQL. Start by creating a new connection Session in HeidiSQL, then choose the MySQL library type.

Configure the data set using the values for the MySQL service for Active Directory you configured in SQL Gateway (be sure to use the DSN for the database name). Validate your connection and click Open.

Query Active Directory from HeidiSQL

1. In the database listing on the left, find your connection to Active Directory configured earlier.
2. In the database listing on the left, expand the appropriate connection and to view individual tables or data objects present within Active Directory.
3. Write custom SQL queries targeting these tables, treating the data source like any SQL Server database, or visually explore each tabular data set by selecting the relevant tables

With the CData ODBC Driver for Active Directory and SQL Gateway, you are able to easily query data from Active Directory data in HeidiSQL. If you have any questions, such as needing to access your on-premises data from HeidiSQL, let our Support Team know.